Dec. 11, 2008

Recap | Box Score | Notes

Villanova head coach Jay Wright...

Opening statement: This is what everybody paid for and what everyone remembers about the Big Five. This was a classic. As a fan I love them but as a coach I don't love the classics. Saint Joseph's played great. They came into this building and they played better than us. They played a better game. They deserved it but we gutted it out. It was one of those games where we were thankful to be playing at home. The crowd was awesome. This is a difficult place to play. When we play Saint Joseph's at The Palestra it's a brutal place to play but tonight playing at home was probably the difference. They played better than us and looked better prepared but despite that I was very proud of our leadership tonight.

On giving the ball to Scottie Reynolds in the closing seconds: With such a small amount of time left we are going to put the ball in his hands every time. He has won so many games for us. Tonight our young guys struggled a little bit but the good thing about Scottie in that situation is that if he wouldn't have gotten it done he wouldn't lose his confidence. You worry sometimes that if you lose a game like that early in the season it could affect the rest of the year but we don't worry about that with Scottie.

On Reggie Redding: Reggie was awesome. He does everything for us whenever we need him and wherever we need him. We have used him at the point, at the two and at the three. He is probably the smartest player when he is in the game and he is gutty. In high school he played a lot of big games and when I talk about our leadership tonight he was a big part of that. I was very proud of Reggie tonight.

On playing in close games: Every year we play these games. We learned a lot from the Texas game and that probably helped us tonight. The best thing we learned from the other night going through the film is that when we would make a mistake here and there we would put our heads down. I was really proud of our attitude tonight. We battled through some of the mistakes and it's nice to win a game like that and have it under your belt.

On whether the team was fatigued after four games in 10 days: There was a period we looked a little heavy legged tonight but Saint Joseph's played on the road on Tuesday night also. I think that affected Shane Clark and Dwayne Anderson more. Because of their injuries they just aren't in that great shape. I thought by the end of the game we gutted it out with our depth. We had Reggie Redding able to be in there and Antonio Pena being able to come in fresh allowed him to be good at the end of the game. Dante is awesome. We didn't want to take him out. He's a stud. For him to play 39 minutes after playing close to that the other night was huge.

On the timing of this game: When the game is over you can go back to being a fan again. I do like playing these games early so we all can root for each other. I'll be honest. When a team is coming in to play you, you don't want them to be playing great ball. I like to play these games in December so we can root for everyone and don't have to worry about the rest of the year.

On the closeness of the game: We have games like this every year and we will have more of them. We are going to have a great game against La Salle on Sunday. That arena is wild to play in and we have only done it once before. This was a tough place to play tonight but that place is wild.

On Big Five games and the La Salle game on Sunday: La Salle is playing great and that's going to be a great game. These games prepare us for the Big East, they really do. People always talk about our schedule but then tonight was a great game and we have another one coming up. There won't be any Big East game that is more intense than tonight. These games get us ready for that. I say all the time that the Big Five is good for us and these games help us prepare for the rest of the season.

On playing a tough game so soon after the first loss of the year: It was great to have this type of game. We came off our first loss and we didn't have a problem losing that game to Texas but we didn't feel that we played like ourselves. When you have a game like that it can weigh on you for a long time until you are challenged again. It was great to have this type of game the next time out and we knew that it would be. We prepared for it and we rested yesterday but Saint Joseph's played great too. They are a really good team and you can see it in the game film that they just keep getting better.

Junior guard Scottie Reynolds...

On making the late game-winning free throws: We do this every day in practice. Coach prepares us in practice for tough situations and tough environments. At the end of practice we have a `Win the Game' drill where everybody goes to the line. If you miss a shot it is minus two points and if you make it then it is plus one. We play until we win the game. It is the greatest feeling you can give a player to put the ball in their hands at the end of the game. To give me the ball in a situation like that and just let me go is a really great feeling.

On coming back from nine points down: At halftime we went back in the locker room and the message was just to get the job done and not make any excuses. We just had to play Villanova basketball, leave it all out there and whatever happens, happens. We were aggressive defensively and I think that's what turned the game around. It didn't go our way every time. There were some deflections and a dunk by Nivins when the ball landed in his hands. Govens made a three-pointer, things like that. That's why we talk about attitude. When things like that happen you can't let it affect you or think about what should have happened. You just have to move on to the next play.

Junior guard Reggie Redding...

On the magnitude of this win: It's up there for me. It's only my third time playing against Saint Joseph's but given what we have been through and coming off a loss there were no excuses. We just had to find a way to win. It wasn't pretty but this type of win will benefit us later in the season.

Saint Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli...

Opening statement: We welcome the opportunity to compete against not just a terrific team this season but a terrific program. It was a terrific atmosphere tonight. The Villanova students stayed very much behind their team. We unraveled a little bit with eight turnovers in the second half. We had a turnover standing in the back court so I didn't have them properly prepared. We had a situation with the shot clock where we were throwing the ball back and fourth. This was certainly a step up and it was hard fought. Today we just weren't good enough. It is a tough time of year with final exams for everyone but when we go back to practice we have to make sure we use the next 10-11 days to get ready for when we play Cornell before the Christmas break.

On Saint Joseph's physical stamina: That was not a factor at all. Our team is as fit as you can be. That had nothing to do with it. There is still some doubt about our guys whether or not we can play at the highest level. Hopefully the 40 minutes tonight will convince them and it will be something more than just me chirping at them.

On the second half turnovers: Villanova turned it up defensively and we knew they would do that. There were some physical turnovers but we also had five missed calls by our players coming out of timeouts. Those mistakes are more mental than physical. When you have eight turnovers you see that a couple of them were unforced. On angles and things like that we have to improve.

On the inbounds plays in the final seconds: We did exactly what we wanted to do. We practice that once a week and we do the same thing every week. What happened is we had a young guy that got into a hurry. Think about it. If you all went out and tried this you wouldn't be able to throw a basketball with your feet parallel. You have to turn your feet and be a quarterback. Neither kid did that and that's why Villanova was able to close the gap on those plays. The ball didn't have enough power on our inbounds passes.

On going up by nine points: Govens made some shots and that probably made us look better but it misses the point. Our defense was extraordinary and I thought it was for the whole game. We did a really nice job defensively. I thought the separation in the first half was our defense.